Back to School soon...A Sample Letter to Your Child's New Teacher

My name is _____________________________ and I was born with some challenges and have been diagnosed with ADHD and Anxiety.

That means that my brain works differently than most people. It also means that there are some things that I am VERY good at doing some things yet other things are really hard for me. Each person diagnosed with ADHD and Anxiety is a bit different and has varying strengths and weaknesses. The best people to ask about me are me and my parents, but Id like to share with you some things in general about me:

HOMEWORK  when I am at school I use an enormous amount of my energy to keep myself safe and focused. At the end of school I am extremely tired and do not cope well with homework. My parents and a special doctor/ tutor/therapist are working with me to increase that coping skill, but if you can think about ways to minimize homework for me, especially if I am getting the concepts in class, it would help make my days more manageable.

DECISION MAKING - Being diagnosed with ADHD and Anxiety means that my brain has trouble thinking of lots of things at once. This makes it really hard for me to make choices and decisions sometimes. It is helpful at those times when I have someone else to help me understand what the choices are in a calm manner and how they might affect me if I am having trouble. I have a developmental delay which my parents and I are working on with professionals after school. I have been told that I will catch up and to be patient.

INFLEXIBILITY- Sometimes my brain also doesnt shift or change its thinking quickly. I think mostly in black and white and have trouble with thinking outside this, although I am working on this skill in increments day by day. Sometimes I feel like adults are speaking a foreign language and I need extra time to understand requests, be flexible and I may be the last one most often to shift. Please know that I am working on this skill.

STRENGTHS - I have many strengths and sometimes it may seem that because of those strengths I shouldnt have these weaknesses, but I do. My doctor assures me that in time I will develop better self-regulation, better coping skills, better flexibility and frustration tolerance with a multi-model treatment plan. Thank you for being part of that plan, for your understanding and for talking things out with me and/or my parents whenever necessary.

HELPING ME WITH MY WEAKNESSES  if I am unhappy, unfriendly or difficult it can be because I am confused, frustrated, overwhelmed or tired. If there are times when I do not respond to what your expectations are, I can get nervous because I upset you and it can make my weaknesses more pronounced. If you ever have a moment and want to talk to me privately about how you want me to act and behave my parents have been teaching me how to collaborate on my weaknesses and come up with solutions to some of my unsolved problems. If I get frustrated, please let me calm down before talking to me about it and if I have a mutually agreed upon safe place to go when I am getting frustrated it can help. Sometimes I just need extra time to relieve my stress. I am not always able to manage my emotions instantaneously, but given time, empathy and a supportive environment I have been more successful. Oh, one last thing, sometimes I can be encouraged to do silly things by others. Please help me to know when others are not being helpful to me.

I cannot change the way I was born, and it is not an excuse to behave poorly, I understand this, but it is an explanation of why some things come easily to me and some things like frustration tolerance, solving problems and flexibility do not. I wanted you to know that I am working on my developmental delays with professionals, my parents and myself. I am pleased to have you as a part of my team!

My parents welcome an open dialogue with you. Best number to reach them is ___________________________ or email them at ________________________________